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Robert E. Howard's Hawks of Outremer #1-4

Robert E. Howard's Hawks of Outremer

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Conan creator Robert E. Howard’s epic story in graphic novel form for the first time ever!

Adapted from the story by Robert E. Howard, creator of the legendary character CONAN THE BARBARIAN! Cormac FitzGeoffrey, a wandering warrior born and bred on the battlefield, is a renowned fighter, a ruthless adversary, and a man that is no stranger to the ways of bloodshed and violence. Cormac counts his friends on only one hand, so when he learns that his most recent liege has been murdered; nothing will stop his quest for revenge. By oath, a path of vengeance will be marked by the blood of his enemies. Featuring covers by fan-favorite THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN artist Joe Jusko!

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2010

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52 people want to read

About the author

Michael Alan Nelson

252 books100 followers
Michael Alan Nelson grew up in a small Indiana farming community before moving to Los Angeles in 2002. He is the winner of the 2004 New Times 55 Fiction contest for his short-short "The Conspirators" and was awarded the 2011 Glyph Comics Award for Best Female Character for the character Selena from his series "28 Days Later." Michael is the author of the critically acclaimed comic series "Hexed," "Dingo," and "Fall of Cthulhu." His current ongoing titles include "Day Men" and the relaunch of the fan-favorite series "Hexed." His first prose novel, "Hexed: the Sisters of Witchdown" arrives May 5th, 2015. He lives in Los Angeles.

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5 stars
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36 (34%)
3 stars
39 (37%)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Quentin Wallace.
Author 34 books178 followers
July 30, 2016
Ive read most of Robert E. Howard's work, and probably read this short story at one point but I didn't remember it. So without comparing this to the original story, I will say it's a decent enough read. There's not really a whole lot going on other than your standard sword fights and betrayals. The art is good, however, and the story isn't bad either. This one is set along the time of the crusades in a slightly more realistic setting than some of Howard's stories.

I don't rank this on the top tier of Howard comics, but it's not bad at all. If you are a fan of the Cormac FitzGeoffrey character or the original story, give this one a try. Really, if you like any of the Conan or Kull comics you may want to check this one out.
Profile Image for David.
2,565 reviews87 followers
September 19, 2021
One of my favorite reads of this year so far. I am a huge fan of historical adventure tales. So this unlikely book was a real find for me.

It's nothing like Robert E. Howard's usual comic book adaptions. It is a straight-up historical tale of a Crusader in the 12th century. There are no fantasy elements here so that makes this superb adaption the ballsiest of Howard's material I've come across in graphic novel form. I only wish there were more comics adaptions of Howard's historical stories. I could read these all year long. The art is terrific also.

A must-read for Robert E. Howard fans.
Profile Image for John.
31 reviews
October 23, 2018
Cormac Fitzgeoffrey: black-haired, blue-eyed Celtic crusader, is Conan without the sense of humor and adventure, but all the ferocity and battle-lust. Cormac is no knight, but like many of Robert E. Howard's protagonists he is a peerless warrior of infamous reputation.

The art and panelling in this collection really matches the storytelling. Cormac is presented as dark, fierce, and overpowering. Characters are identified by their historically appropriate clothing, arms, and armor. Muslims in their inlaid and peaked turban helms, slash with scimitars while Christian knights and men-at-arms wear visored or nasal-guard bullet helmets, red Maltese crosses emblazoned on quilted tunics, and thrust with cross-hilted longswords.

Howard's themes of civilization's decadence vs. barbaric honor are on display here, as Cormac takes on spoiled lords and scheming Saracens. He's a sharply focused spirit of vengeance, his enemy's destruction his only goal, never considering even his own survival.

Conan and Solomon Kane are Howard's A-list characters, but Cormac Fitzgeoffrey is a solid B+. Nelson & Couceiro's adaptation for Boom! Studios is excellent, bringing dynamic visuals and pacing to an already solid story.
Profile Image for Michel.
466 reviews30 followers
August 25, 2015
Robert E. Howard: ik lees dat graag. Hack clash smijt stamp uit de jaren 1930, en toch nog leesbaar, in tegenstelling tot veel pulp van die periode. Howard deed niet echt mee aan cowboy met witte hoed goed, cowboy met zwarte hoed slecht: zijn helden hebben hoeken af, en ‘t is lang niet altijd allemaal duidelijk.

Hawks of Outremer is van vóór Conan, maar hoofdpersonage Cormac FitzGeoffrey is wel redelijk zwaar een voorspiegeling van Conan. Niet in een mythisch land twaalf eeuwen geleden maar in de periode van de Derde Kruistocht, geen Cimmeriaan maar een half-Noorman half-Celtische krijger.

Het verhaal doet er niet echt heel erg hard toe: Cormac is op weg naar Antiochië, komt te weten dat zijn maat Gerard doodgeslegen is wegens wellicht een vrouwenhistorie, en besluit (hoe zoudt ge zelf zijn) wraak te nemen.

Cormac moet het helemaal op zijn alleen doen, wegens dat er net een fragiel bestand tussen Saracenen en Europeanen was en dat het niet de bedoeling was dat één dode de oorlog zou doen opflakkeren. Cue moord en doodslag, zonder ommezien of aflaten, tot zelfs in de tent van hoofdsaraceen Saladin.

Een avonturenboek voor scholieren, maar ook geestig voor ouders van scholieren.
Profile Image for Steve Chaput.
656 reviews26 followers
March 17, 2011
Writer Michael Alan Nelson and artist Damian Couceiro, adapt the story by Robert E. Howard. The story introduces Cormac FitzGeoffrey, a wandering warrior who left to fight in the crusades, but learns that one of his friends had been killed during his absence. Going off to avenge the murder, Cormac discovers himself in the middle of a several plots involving both Christians and Muslim villains. In Cormac you can see much of what Howard would later turn into his best known creation, Conan. Originally a mini-series published by BOOM!, it has now been issuedin TPB format.

Nothing you haven't seen before, but still nicely work by both Nelson & Couceiro.
Profile Image for Chris M.
78 reviews
March 22, 2022
Faithful adaptation of a Robert E. Howard story taking place during the Crusades, let down by inconsistent art and the fact they left the last and best line of the story out (which the writer of the afterword agrees was a misstep, as it ties Howard's overarching theme of civilization vs savagery in all of his works in this story).

Nevertheless, a fun, quick historical romp, full of action and not requiring too much thought.
51 reviews
December 7, 2019
For fans of classic pulp era stories

If you love Conan or Solomon Kane you'll love this. Filled with much of what most modern comics are missing. The art also captures the feel of the era it came from.
Profile Image for Juho Pohjalainen.
Author 5 books350 followers
June 1, 2023
I've not read the original story - not for the lack of trying, it's just hard to find - but this comic stood well on its own merits, and the writing has more than a shade of Howard's style. The main character looks just a bit too identical to Conan, though: it threw me off.
Profile Image for Robert Noll.
511 reviews4 followers
December 27, 2018
2.5 Stars. Robert E. Howard's prose translates poorly to the Funnybook adaptation. Cormac FitzGeoffrey is Superman with a Sword, but Howard's heavy dialog is a burden for the tale.
Profile Image for David.
1,271 reviews2 followers
March 12, 2021
Classic hack and slash.

There isn't much personality here. Lots of rage, buckets of blood, a tiny glimmer of morality drowned in the slaughter.

Profile Image for Paul.
770 reviews23 followers
April 5, 2013
When Conan was Cormac?h
Actually Cormac's got a pretty mean and sadistic side to him. It's said that he can count the number of his friends on a single hand... no doubt as he has some pretty poor social skills and can't make that many new ones... I know the feeling, heh.

He also seems to have the most genuine death-wish I've ever seen in an Howard character. Going into battle at loosing odds and smiling all the while.

For fans of Conan, you can easily replace the name Cormac with that of Conan and you'll get a pretty good Conan story as well... no doubt Dynamite couldn't get the rights to the real McCoy... so they went with pretty much the best copy they could get.

The story reads pretty much as Howard had written it in the pulps, with obvious dialogue and all the appropriate clichés.
Profile Image for La Espada en la Tinta.
367 reviews155 followers
September 30, 2014
Los personajes que creó el escritor tejano Robert E. Howard son tan abundantes que los menos duchos en su obra no dejan en cualquier momento de descubrir a algunos de ellos, y los hay de todos los tipos: un boxeador y marinero, un aventurero puritano, un rey picto, un bárbaro de la desaparecida Atlantis y otro de la antigua Cimmeria, pero también un guerrero medio galés, medio normando, que participó en la Tercera Cruzada (1189-1992).

Sigue leyendo...
Profile Image for Gonzalo Oyanedel.
Author 23 books78 followers
December 6, 2015
Buen traspaso a viñetas para una de las narraciones "medievales" más apreciadas de Robert E. Howard, que conserva su estilo directo y ausente de metáforas. Logrado ejercicio para una entretenida lectura de distracción.
Profile Image for Mhorg.
Author 11 books12 followers
February 16, 2025
Conans shade

One of Howard's history as fiction, this is a great adaptation. While the knight cormac looks a bit too much like Conan, this is a ripping yarn with great artwork. I don't know how this Graphic novel escaped me. Brilliant!
357 reviews1 follower
May 13, 2022
Conan on steroids, but not in a good way. Quite unlikeable character, being a d&%k to everyone for no reason, and extremely overpowered compared to his enemies despite this taking place in a realistic setting (no magic & dragons here).
Profile Image for Little Timmy.
7,425 reviews61 followers
February 14, 2016
Excellent adaptation of Robert E. Howard's story into comic format. The art was very well done and the plotting followed the short story exactly. Very recommended
Profile Image for Jacob.
1,722 reviews7 followers
July 12, 2011
Awesome Joe Jusko covers.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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